Summary
- Edge of Alaska is a scripted reality show that often utilizes multiple takes to ensure the juiciest plot and the best ratings.
- Discovery Channel altered details about Jenny Rosenbaum's past to make her appear as a rugged loner, when in reality she is not.
- McCarthy, the town featured in the show, has no law enforcement or hospital, posing serious dangers to its residents.
Edge of Alaska is one of several Discovery Channel shows that are set in the titular state, thrusting the small town of McCarthy, Alaska into the spotlight by showing the day-to-day activities of its forty residents. Some residents attempt to transform the area into a tourist town, building hotels and other attractions to gain business, while other residents live quiet, peaceful lives and work to keep their small town from gaining any extra attention. The show ended in 2017, capping off a four-year run with the residents of McCarthy.
Jeremy Keller and his wife Alison live as farmsteaders, preferring nature and the outdoors to the bustle of city life. Another Edge of Alaska star, Neil Darish, is a businessperson who moved to McCarthy years ago with hopes of bringing in visitors. Other town residents are frequently shown as well, such as a local mother, Jenny Rosenbaum, and bush pilot Jason Lobo. While Edge of Alaska has incredibly true stories and presents a fairly accurate portrayal of the lives of McCarthy’s residents, there are still behind-the-scenes secrets.
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Edge Of Alaska Creates Dramatized Situations For The Stars
This Edge of Alaska secret won’t come as much of a surprise to those familiar with the world of reality television. Shows such as Edge of Alaska are constantly scripted and rehearsed, and occasionally even utilize multiple takes to ensure the juiciest plot and the best ratings. In an interview published during the show’s first season, Neil Darish readily admitted that Edge of Alaska is often scripted, utilizing many of the same pitfalls as its related shows.
Neil Darish still struggles with his negative portrayal in the show, but realizes that even on a "reality" show, he is giving a performance — audiences should expect dramatization, or otherwise, the show would run the risk of losing viewers.
14 Discovery Channel Lied About Jenny Rosenbaum’s Past
She Isn't Quite The Alaskan Loner That The Show Paints Her As
Discovery Channel writes short bios on each of the stars of Edge of Alaska, introducing viewers to the history of each individual and what motivates them. When it came to Jenny Rosenbaum’s bio, it appears that certain details were overlooked or altered to change Jenny’s appearance on the show. Discovery’s bio paints Jenny as a rugged individual on her own, and while she is certainly a tough character on the show, she’s not quite the loner that they make her out to be.
In reality, Jenny’s Facebook page shows that she was once married, is in a relationship with a man named Caleb, and has a son named Jasper. Discovery also mentions that Jenny moved to McCarthy “straight out of high school,” when in reality, Jenny attended the University of Texas at Austin for several years before moving to Alaska.
13 There Is No Law Enforcement In McCarthy
There Is Also No Hospital In The Town
McCarthy’s small-town vibe and isolated location pose serious dangers to its residents, whether involving their health or their well-being. The town of McCarthy has absolutely no law enforcement or hospital, and the nearest location with these facilities is over 100 miles away. While the town is small and such law enforcement would not consistently be needed, McCarthy has not been free from crime and has oftentimes suffered as a result.
Stephens Harper is a local resident who believes that Discovery Channel’s advertisement for the town’s lawlessness in Edge of Alaska poses a threat. "Promoting the idea that McCarthy is a place of Wild West lawlessness is fun and entertaining until someone gets shot,” says Harper, who emailed local business owners upon the show’s release to keep them informed of the town’s situation (via Anchorage Daily News).
12 Town Resident Jason Lobo Suffered Severe Burns
Jason's Cabin Caught On Fire As He Slept
Jason Lobo is another star from Edge of Alaska, known for his job as a bush pilot. He flies small planes in and out of McCarthy and moved there several years ago to seek a place of isolation that still offered him a good sense of community. In October 2017, Jason was sleeping in his cabin and suddenly woke up to the smell of smoke. When he left his bedroom, he saw his entire cabin on fire and ran through the flames to escape from the burning home.
A formal statement regarding his injuries was never given, but his friends from the show announced on Facebook that he suffered severe burns. The other residents set up a GoFundMe page to help rebuild Jason’s cabin. He has now recovered from his injuries.
11 Tim Mischel Left The Show & Town After Heart Attack
However, He Survived & Returned To McCarthy
In October 2015, McCarthy resident and Edge of Alaska star Tim Mischel suffered a heart attack, and when he refused to undergo surgery, it appeared he would not live much longer. The town was excited to learn that Mischel survived the heart attack, and though the road to recovery would be long and difficult, he would come back to McCarthy as soon as he could. Mischel lived in the town for over 40 years, with some residents calling him the “Old Man of the Mountain.”
Townspeople often consult Tim on important decisions, since his age and experience make him quite knowledgeable about life in McCarthy. Tim was thrilled to finally return to his town after a year of recovery and seemed as happy and healthy as ever.
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They Arrived After Their Land Was Taken
In 2016, one of McCarthy’s long-standing families, the Pilgrim family, left their original home when the National Park Service began battling them over bulldozer access inside the National Park (where the Pilgrims lived). As the debate continued, the Pilgrims eventually began camping in the middle of the town of McCarthy, which residents did not take kindly to. In the summer of 2016, two separate assault cases were charged against residents displeased with the family’s camping.
There was also a reported incident of a mooning. The town landowners threatened to bulldoze the Pilgrim’s tents and the town residents created a petition in an attempt to make the family leave. The petition, which was addressed to the Pilgrims, stated that their “continued homesteading of that public area with farm animals, vehicles and [their] large family is clearly not in the best interest of the community” (via Anchorage Daily News)
9 Jeremy Keller Indirectly Contributes To The Tourism He Tries To Prevent
Jeremy Builds & Sells Things That Help The Tourism Community
Jeremy Keller is the “leader” of the McCarthy residents who seek to keep the town isolated from tourists and visitors. Keller consistently speaks out against the consumerism and business mentality that his opponent, Neil Darish, advocates. Darish, however, believes that Keller contributes to the town’s continuing tourist boom, whether he realizes it or not (via Hollywood Soap Box).
“While Jeremy is off the grid and doesn’t think he’s relating to tourism, he is [doing just that] because when he sells stuff to me or when he’s building stuff for people in town, the revenue starts from outside the town, and it’s brought to us by people that are visiting.”
While this may not be a direct contribution to the issue, Darish and others see Keller’s actions and view them in contrast to his push for isolation.
8 Several McCarthy Citizens Died In A Shooting
The History Of McCarthy Is Violent
Discovery Channel knew about McCarthy's dark past, as it was one of many reasons why it was an ideal spot for a reality television show such as Edge of Alaska. In 1983, the town contained only 22 residents (that number currently sits at 40). When town resident and pilot Gary Green went to the airport in 1983, he was shocked to witness another resident, Lou Hastings, firing his weapon around the airport, taking the lives of six of McCarthy’s residents (via Anchorage Daily News).
“I'm the only one in town that day that didn't get shot. It wasn't an easy thing to come back to. I cleaned up all the blood.”
7 Many Locals Disapprove Of The Show
McCarthy Residents Don't Like The Publicity
The small town of McCarthy has always been a quiet, little-known refuge offered as a getaway for those wanting isolation or even just a break from society. Given this mentality, it is easy to see why many of the town's residents disapprove of the show being filmed in their formerly isolated location. Many residents point to one man as the cause for the Edge of Alaska being created — Neil Darish.
It is well known among citizens of the town that Darish invited Discovery Channel to visit the location and pitched them his idea for the show being filmed there. Darish feels that he has a clear conscience, saying in an early interview, "The empirical evidence is clear: there's no such thing as a reality TV show destroying a town" (via Anchorage Daily News).
6 Neil Darish Hates His Portrayal On The Show
Neil Wasn't Happy About Being Painted As A Bad Guy
Throughout the entire series, if one person came out looking like the "bad guy," it was Neil Darish. He has an entrepreneurial outlook and is always thinking of how to grow the town and widen its appeal, which hasn't sat well with others. The small town and its residents "aren't too thrilled" with Darish's choices, nor the fact that he's brought in hundreds of visitors and tourists in the last few years.
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